This one was taken at our house in Anchorage in 2006. I love it not only because G is hanging onto Daddy and contemplating the navigation of that “giant” step but because prior to taking the picture G had been standing there with his hand on C’s back for a while just watching the world go by . . . and asking Daddy to share his sandwich.

G is a toucher . . . he touches people when he talks to them and when he is feeling especially loving toward someone. As soon as he was old enough to sit next to me on the couch instead of in my lap he started resting one of his sweet little hands on on my leg the entire time we were sitting together.

And it continues to this day . . . when we are watching a movie or reading a book he reaches over and sets his hand on my arm or my leg or pushes his feet under my legs. He never takes his eyes off the TV, he just reaches out and makes a connection. He isn’t a child who wants to be cuddled, he wants to do the cuddling. I pray that whomever he marries fully grasps how much a part of him this is . . . how much he needs it . . . how it feeds his heart and soul . . . and that she loves him enough to happily hold still for hugs every single day.